Assembly Bill A5207

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Provides that instructions to the jury shall include certain defenses

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2019-A5207 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S4561
Current Committee:
Assembly Codes
Law Section:
Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §300.10, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2009-2010: A9044, A2211
2011-2012: A881, S5738
2013-2014: A954, S2842
2015-2016: A6381, S1724
2017-2018: A5843, S3243
2021-2022: A5535, S4798
2023-2024: A2039, S5860

2019-A5207 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that instructions to the jury shall include certain defenses; provides that such instructions shall include, but not be limited to, "Do not let bias, sympathy, prejudice, or public opinion influence your decision"; defines the term "bias".

2019-A5207 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5207
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 7, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Codes
 
 AN  ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to instructions
   to the jury relating to certain defenses
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares all of the
 following:
   (a) New York law defines a hate crime as a specified criminal  offense
 intentionally  committed because of the actual or perceived race, color,
 national origin, ancestry, gender, religion,  religious  practice,  age,
 disability  or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the
 belief or perception is correct.
   (b) It is the right of every person regardless of actual or  perceived
 race,  color,  national  origin,  ancestry,  gender, religion, religious
 practice, age, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation  to  be
 secure  and  protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm caused
 by the actions of violent groups and individuals.
   (c) "Bias" includes bias based upon the victim's actual  or  perceived
 race,  color,  national  origin,  ancestry,  gender, religion, religious
 practice, age, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation.
   (d) It is against public policy as expressed  in  rules  of  court  on
 judicial  conduct  for  members  of the judiciary or lawyers in judicial
 proceedings to manifest bias  based  upon  characteristics  of  parties,
 including  the  actual or perceived age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual
 orientation or disability of a crime victim.
   (e) "Panic strategies" are those strategies  that  try  to  explain  a
 defendant's  actions  or emotional reactions based upon the knowledge or
 discovery of the fact that the victim possesses one or more of the char-
 acteristics listed above or associates with a person or group  with  one
 or more of those characteristics.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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